Heavyweight Rowing to Battle Cornell and Syracuse for Goes and Stagg Trophies

Third varsity race to begin event at 9:00 a.m.

The Mids look to defend the Goes Trophy for a third straight year.

April 18, 2014

ITHACA, N.Y. - The ninth-ranked Navy heavyweight rowing team will compete on Saturday on the Cayuga Lake Inlet in a three-team competition for the Goes and Stagg Trophies. Racing against the eighth-ranked Big Red of Cornell and the 17th-ranked Syracuse Orange, the Midshipmen will look to defend the Goes Trophy as the winner of the Varsity Eight race for the third straight year. The Stagg Trophy is awarded to the program with the most overall points, Navy’s win in 2013 was its first since 2005.

The schedule of events on Saturday will include four varsity eight races and one freshmen eight contest. The 3V8 competition begins the morning of racing at 9:00 a.m., while the 4V8 will conclude the meet with a 10:20 starting time.

"This will be a pivotal weekend of racing in our season,” said Navy head coach Rob Friedrich. “Both Cornell and Syracuse are strong crews and racing has been tight in recent years. Our young team will have to step it up and row their best race of the season.”

In 2013, the competition for the Goes and Stagg Trophies was held in Annapolis on the Severn River. On April 20, the Mids’ were victorious in the V8 by a time of 5:37.5 to 5:38.6 over Cornell to win the Goes Trophy for the 25th time in the history of the trophy. In the Stagg Trophy contest, wins by the 2V8 and 3V8 squads helped the Mids hold off the Big Red by an 11-9 final score.

THE GOES TROPHY: The Goes Trophy is awarded to the winner of the varsity eight race between Navy, Cornell and Syracuse. The trophy was placed into competition in 1955 by Clifford (Tip) Goes, a former Syracuse coxswain, veteran referee, and long-time chairman of the U.S. Olympic Rowing Committee. The all-time standings in Goes Trophy competitions is Navy first with 25 wins, Cornell second with 21 victories and Syracuse third at 11 wins.